A San Mateo Superior Court Judge has ordered Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla to appear in court to testify about blocking public access to a popular surf spot.

The Sun Microsystems co-founder is being sued by the Surfrider Foundation over the closing of Martin’s Beach, just south of Half Moon Bay. At one point, there used to be a sign welcoming the public to Martin’s Beach. But after Khosla bought the land in 2008, it was painted over and the public was warned to stay out.

A Silicon Valley titan is refusing to come to court and testify about blocking public access to a popular surf spot. (Published Thursday, May 1, 2014)

The county told him he needed a coastal permit to make those changes. Khosla never applied for a permit. His attorneys argued that a permit wasn't needed to paint a billboard ot close a gate that was there before Khosla bought the property.

But Peninsula attorney Joe Cotchett, who is representing Surfrider, said that there's no question that Khosla violated the state's Coastal Act.

Khosla has been in the news recently because of a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco that alleged that a Stanford University graduate was blackmailing his daughter over nude photographs he took of her while they were dating.